What is the best practice for storing sensitive customer data securely in the cloud? Learn why encrypting data before cloud storage is essential for compliance and protection—key for CompTIA Security+ (Plus) SY0-701 exam success.
Table of Contents
Question
A company needs to store sensitive customer data securely in a cloud environment. What is the best practice?
A. Rely on the cloud provider’s default security settings
B. Use a weak hashing algorithm for encryption
C. Encrypt the data before storing it in the cloud
D. Disable multi-factor authentication
E. Use public cloud storage without restrictions
Answer
C. Encrypt the data before storing it in the cloud
Explanation
Encrypting data before cloud storage ensures that even if it is accessed by unauthorized parties, it remains unreadable.
The best practice for securely storing sensitive customer data in a cloud environment is to encrypt the data before storing it in the cloud.
Encryption ensures that even if unauthorized parties gain access to the stored data, they cannot read or use it without the decryption keys. This applies to both data at rest (stored in the cloud) and data in transit (moving to and from the cloud).
Industry standards recommend using strong encryption algorithms such as AES-256 for data at rest and TLS 1.3 or higher for data in transit. This approach protects sensitive information like personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, and intellectual property from breaches and unauthorized disclosure.
Encrypting data before it enters the cloud gives organizations direct control over encryption keys, further reducing the risk that cloud provider personnel or attackers could access the plaintext data.
Relying solely on a cloud provider’s default security settings or using weak encryption algorithms exposes data to unnecessary risk and may not meet regulatory compliance requirements.
Additional best practices include implementing strong access controls, data loss prevention (DLP) tools, and continuous monitoring, but encryption is the foundational safeguard for protecting sensitive data in cloud environments.
Encrypting sensitive data before cloud storage ensures that, even if accessed by unauthorized parties, the information remains unreadable and protected from breaches or leaks.
CompTIA Security+ (Plus) SY0-701 certification exam practice question and answer (Q&A) dump with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the CompTIA Security+ (Plus) SY0-701 exam and earn CompTIA Security+ (Plus) SY0-701 certification.